


The Here and There

by Arisocal



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 14:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15951110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arisocal/pseuds/Arisocal
Summary: Steve and Natasha through the eyes of their fellow friends and teammates.





	The Here and There

**Tony:**

The first time Tony Stark really raised an eyebrow at Captain America and the Black Widow was during one of his over-the-top gatherings. Sure, he has eyed them a few times—like when the red head claimed to be on  _ his _ team and betrayed him for Rogers. Yet, he was not shocked by her actions. Looking back, Steve Rogers always came first for her. So right now, as he’s looking at them standing a few feet away, laughing about something, he rolls his eyes.

Natasha is talking, saying something that causes Steve to laugh and it seems that Thor laughs along as he stands there with his drink. Tony has the full view of Thor’s face as Steve and Natasha’s back were to him. Thor seems to be making a comment, causing all of them to chuckle. Natasha lightly places a hand on Steve’s bicep as they laugh. Steve simply leans in closer to her touch. Touches between them had become natural and it took everything in Tony Stark not to voice out that they really need to resolve that sexual tension.

Thor seems to be backing away, bidding away as he walks over to the bar, leaving the Captain and Red standing alone. They turn to face one another and Steve says something that has Natasha nodding and they walk over towards the desserts table—but not before Steve rests his hand on Natasha’s lower back. They make it across the room that way, close in proximity and not a care in the world.

“The dance floor is pretty empty,” Tony approached them cheekily. “Lighten it up Cap,” he added with an egoistic grin.

Steve shook his head as Natasha elbowed him.

“Aw come on,” she whined. “Think about the scene you’ll cause: Captain America rocking the dance floor.”

Steve raised his eyebrow at her before a cheesy smile took over his face.

“Care to be a fool with me, Agent Romanoff?” He asked, holding his hand out like the true gentleman he was.

Natasha giggled.  _ Giggled _ . And Tony had to hold back at the eye rolling. They were ridiculous. You had Cap who was just a cheesy love struck mess and a giggling Black Widow.

“Ridiculous,” Tony let out an exhausted breath.

He watched as Steve led Natasha to the empty and dimmed dance floor. The music was mellow and the two clearly had no intentions of being a fool together as they fell into each other’s arms and lightly swayed along the calm melody. Tony had to shake his head as Natasha pressed her head against Steve’s chest. Steve held onto the redhead beauty as close as he could. They made sense together. They were different from one another, but they brought out the best out of each other.

“Kids,” Tony groaned before picking at the food table beside him.

 

**Wanda:**

Wanda has always considered herself to be  _ their _ biggest fan. She found pure adoration when it came to Steve and Natasha. They seemed to enjoy one another’s company and she could see between their stares: they wanted each other bad.

She had been alone with them many times, and most of those times, they hardly notice her. Not to be mean, but they were just lost in one another.

Which was how she ended up sitting on a bean bag chair while Steve and Natasha hogged the couch. A movie was playing, but neither one of them had been paying attention and Wanda was busy pretending to read her book—when she really was listening to  _ their _ dinner plans. Steve wanted pizza. Natasha wanted Thai food. And of course Thai food won—as long as they ventured across the city to Steve’s favorite ice cream place afterwards.

The way Natasha smiled at him and said “ _ it’s a date, Soldier, _ ” was enough to cause Wanda to snicker behind her book. But they did not notice her, because Steve was suddenly leaning in way too close to Natasha. Their faces were inches apart and Wanda thought it was the moment she would witness them kiss and she could finally shout “Ah ha!” Except there was no kiss.

Instead, Natasha crunched her face, told him he was starting to get wrinkles and they laughed, leaning back away from each other.

“Well, we’re going to go get ready and head out,” Natasha announced, standing up.

“Hmm,” Wanda acknowledged her words but kept her eyes on her book, and then she looked up to watch them leave.

“Come on Captain,” Natasha held out her hand to usher Steve up. “I need a shower and so do you. I don’t want a stinky date.”

“I don’t stink,” Steve groaned as he stood up. “But I will gladly shower for you, Agent Romanoff.”

And with that, they disappeared to their suites. Wanda shook her head as their laughter faded away.

 

**Sam:**

They were annoying.  _ So _ annoying. Just hearing them through the earpiece bickering about who’s fault it is that they were not going to make it back in time to catch the play tonight was fist-clenching enough. Maybe they would not be so annoying if they actually just admitted they kept going on all these “friendly” dates because they were dying to get each other in bed, naked.

Sam rolled his eyes so much, he was sure he was going blind. In fairness, it was both  _ their _ fault because they had taken their sweet time securing the area—-which meant they probably strolled down the hallway making doey eyes at one another— since he definitely heard the giggles, the teasing one another, some of their sexual tension remarks, and then he probably did not catch it all, but he was sure they argued over something, stared at one another for way too long, and then eventually did the task they were sent to do.

And he really wanted to say it out loud:  _ “Maybe if you two stopped bickering, you can make it to the play tonight and I can stop listening to you two!” _

But instead he kept quiet and guarded the door.

“Ow!” Natasha screamed and all Sam could hear were tumbling noises and more things falling.

“Nat!” Steve yelled. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a scrape,” Natasha groaned.

“Let me see,” Steve seemed to have been close to her as Sam could hear their voices echoing from both their microphones.

“It’s fine, just help me down,” Natasha said and then it sounded like she jumped down, initiating for Steve to catch her because suddenly there were noises of bodies falling, a grunt, and then fits of laughter.

“You know my room is right next door to yours,” Natasha’s voice was of course, flirtatious. “If you want to pin me down, all you have to do is knock.”

“ _ Oh god _ ,” Sam groaned in his head.

“Because this is something I definitely could get use to,” Sam could hear the smirk in Natasha’s voice.

“You’re making this very difficult,” Steve groaned.

“I don’t see you getting off of me, Captain.”

“Sorry,” Steve grumbled.

“You’re still not moving.”

“Uh—“

“Oh?” Natasha let out. “I can definitely take care of  _ that _ .”

“Please don’t,” Sam said out loud. “I don’t want to hear that.”

“We can turn it off,” Natasha said casually.

“That is my belt,” Steve sounded like he was blushing. “But thank you for the offer.”

And then it was silence.

“I make jokes about that but I resp—“

“It’s okay Nat,” Steve spoke with a softer voice. “I know you’re just being playful.”

“I am,” Natasha agreed.

Sam rolled his eyes, again.

“Guys,” he groaned. “Hurry it up!”

 

**Laura Barton:**

Natasha had been a frequent visitor before. Not as frequent as the children would prefer, but she had always made time to stop by when she could and she especially went out of her way to visit on their birthdays. It was Lila’s birthday, which was no surprise that Auntie Nat decided to spend the entire week with them—with the newly labeled Uncle Steve.

“Is Uncle Steve your boyfriend? Lila had asked Natasha as they were making crafts for the party decorations.

Laura smiled to herself, it was a question she was going to ask Natasha later—when no one was around. She felt bad that Steve and Natasha had just arrived, yet they were putting them to work already. Steve was outside with Clint, clearing up the yard as they planned to have bouncy houses and water slides for the party in two days.

“Uh, no,” Natasha answered, her voice light and far from defensive. “He’s a really good friend.”

“Do we call him Uncle Steve?” Lila’s innocent soon-to-be eight years old self asked.

“You can call him whatever you want,” Natasha answered.

“Uncle Steve then, since he means a lot to you and you’re auntie Nat. We needed an uncle anyway,” her reasoning made sense to her and Laura really wished she could interrogate Natasha further soon.

By the time dinner came around, Nathaniel had decided to be one extremely happy toddler as Steve held him.

“You want kids?” Laura asked curiously.

Clint sent her a look and she ignored her husband. She could pry on Captain America’s life if she wanted to. He was a guest at her house and he was holding her baby boy.

“Yeah, I did,” Steve answered honestly. “The whole Avengers thing kind of makes that impossible though.”

“You’ll eventually retire from it,” Laura shrugged.

Natasha walked into the kitchen area, leaning against the doorway as she smiled at Steve, playing with the babbling toddler. And Laura knew that look  _ well—it was a woman looking at her man thinking how good he looked holding a baby _ .

“We were just talking about Steve wanting children,” Clint smirked.

“Oh really?” Natasha raised her eyebrow at him. “You’re gonna have to get over your fear and actually take someone on a date then.”

Steve rolled his eyes and focused his attention back towards Nathaniel.

“I was just going to take our stuff up, which room or rooms are we invading?” Natasha asked and Laura beamed at her question.

“If you two don’t mind sharing a room,” she was practically smiling from ear to ear. “I’ve been working on getting the other room ready for Nate’s big boy room so it’s a mess right now,” she explained.

“It’s fine, I’m used to his snoring now,” Natasha laughed.

Laura laughed along, but she really wanted to take that conversation further. And she certainly would as she helped Natasha up with their luggage.

“So really, what’s with you and Uncle Steve?” Laura asked playfully.

“Just friends,” Natasha followed her up the stairs. “As much of a disappointment that seems to be for everyone.”

“It’s just a waste of chemistry, connection, and all. Take it to the next level and really give it a go,” Laura opened the guest room door. “Or does he have issues and is that why you’re friendzoning him?”

Natasha shook her head as she placed her bag on the bed.

“He’s—nothing wrong with him,” she answered honestly. “We’re—we don’t make sense together,” it was the best she could come up with and Laura could tell there was so much more left unsaid.

Lucky for her, Auntie Nat and Uncle Steve were sticking around for the week.

And did they spend the entire week making heart eyes at one another. During the birthday party, as Steve was in charged of many games—really anything that involved the energy—Laura could tell just how much Natasha enjoyed seeing that side of him. There had been numerous instances where Laura caught her simply smiling and watching him teach a child how to throw the ball or how to make the perfect splash on the slide.

“Baby fever?” Laura stood next to Natasha.

Nathaniel fell in love with Captain America and he was hamming up the attention as Steve pushed him on the swing.

“You know I can’t have any,” Natasha playfully rolled her eyes.

“They told me I couldn’t have anymore and Nate happened,” Laura pointed out. “Our bodies are miraculous things.”

Natasha was silent, almost as if she was considering something new for her future.

“A baby Captain America would be freaking cute,” Laura laughed.

“Oh it would be,” Natasha agreed. “A little Steve and his damn blue eyes.”

_ So she has pictured it before _ .

“Here Nat,” Steve jogged over to them, soaking wet and holding Nathaniel. “You watch the little guy while I change.”

Natasha gladly took the toddler and did her best to ignore Laura’s smirk.

“How do you share a bed with that and not do anything?”

“It’s not easy,” Natasha admitted as she cooed at the toddler. “But he’s very respectful.”

“So you’d let it happen if he made the move?”

“We’re just friends.”

“Those arms must feel nice wrapped around you,” Laura was pushing it, but the faint blush on Natasha’s cheeks confirmed her statement.

 

 

**Bucky:**

He stills feels bad for trying to kill all of them, but if they were all willing to carry on and forget it; he would try. But he’s also very sure the only reason the Black Widow has not killed him is because she cared for Steve, which meant she would not hurt those he cared for. Thank god for that.

And that was exactly how he ended up being their third wheel. Sam had warned him and he disagreed with him. He knew Steve well, they had history and surely, he would be the focus as they reminisce the memories of Coney Island. Wrong.

Steve Rogers’ eyes and attention were on Natasha Romanoff the entire time. The man was clearly in love, or extremely infatuated.

“Want a taste?” Natasha asked holding her ice cream to Steve. “Strawberry cheesecake,” she grinned as Steve leaned in to get a taste.

Bucky felt his eyes roll. They were pukingly adorable together and he suddenly cursed himself for even joining them. Why did they even let him tag along was beyond him. He ended up standing or walking behind them for the most part. They were always engaged in some conversation, laughing over something, or feeling each other like teenagers.

It really would not be that agitating if they admitted their feelings for one another. They seemed good together. They laughed a lot, touched a lot. Everything that was visible about them seemed to scream “meant to be.” It was a different side of them. It was the Steve he knew, but not the Natasha he had encountered. She seemed at ease and actually enjoyed herself. He was not aware that she even let herself do that.

“You promised you’d win me one,” Natasha’s voice was high, catching Bucky’s attention. “We’re not leaving until I get one. I’ve never gotten one before.”

“If I win you one, you have to sleep with it for a week,” Steve winked at Natasha.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Natasha scuffed. “You know I can’t sleep with stuffed animals.”

“You want me to win you one so you can just shove it away?”

“I’ll probably display it in my room for all my frequent visitors to see,” she winked at him.

Steve did eventually win Natasha the damn giant Panda bear. And they were the complete definition of the cheesiest carnival couple in the world...who denied being a couple.

“Come on Soldier,” Natasha linked her arm with Steve’s as he dragged the giant panda. “We still haven’t gone on the ferris wheel and I’ve never been on one so—“

“Hey you two go on the ferris wheel, I’m going to talk it up with that blonde over there,” Bucky knew he was not going to approach the woman laughing it up with her friends, but it made a perfect excuse. “I’ll even hold your panda, might make her find me more cute,” he tried to flash a convincing smile.

Natasha nodded at his words, clearly the redhead was more focused on her time with her  _ close _ friend. It was obvious she genuinely enjoyed Steve’s company, her eyes and smile said it all. And of course his best friend’s ear to ear smile was not one to be missed. They were idiots wanting one another—which was why he chose to sit out on that Ferris wheel ride.

“Actually, invite her with us,” Natasha suggested out of the blue.

_ Oh no _ .

“Uh…”

“Just ask her,” Natasha rolled her eyes. “Aren’t ferris wheels supposed to romantic anyway? She would like that.”

_ Was she hearing the words coming out of her mouth? _

“Go ask her Steve,” she elbowed him. “Be the wingman.”

“Uhh no,” Steve shook his head. “I don’t really approach women like that,” he blushed slightly.

“It’s not even for you,” Natasha rolled her eyes. “I’ll do it.”

And she did, leaving Steve and Bucky to stand awkwardly wondering what the hell she had to say to the woman to get her to hang out with a stranger. They were grown adults for goodness sake, not teenagers.

“Seriously man, your woman is bold,” Bucky shook his head in disbelief. “But damn she suits you.”

“She’s not my woman,” Steve corrected.

“I think her actions make it clear that she’s yours.”

“She’s—she’s Natasha. She doesn’t belong to anyone.”

“I used to think yeah, you were too busy to be dating around. Same goes for Romanoff, but you two date. Each other. Without the extra good stuff though, you might want to change that man,” Bucky spoke. “You enjoy things now, but it could probably be you know—“

“This is Rachel,” Natasha came back with the woman.

Of course she did.

“Rachel, this is Steve, and this is...Bucky,” she hesitated on which name to introduce him as. “He’s had his eyes on you all night,” she just had to add that. “She’s willing to go on the ferris wheel ride with us as long as we don’t kill her.”

Bucky groaned and Steve just laughed. Natasha was always filled with surprises.

And it was awkward because he had no idea what to talk to the woman about. He randomly selected her because she was there when he turned his head and she was attractively giggling away with her group.

“You’re crazy,” Steve said in a low tone to Natasha as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Their backs were to Bucky and his ferris wheel date Rachel, making the whole event just  _ odd _ . He was definitely never going out with them again.

The ferris wheel ride was somewhat bearable. The four of them were all together and thankfully Rachel was talkative. Although she mainly asked Steve and Natasha questions once she finally realized why they all looked so familiar.

“Are you two an item?” She questioned. “I think that’s the whole world’s question.”

Natasha politely denied it and Steve blushed, as per usual.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Bucky rubbed his face after he bid farewell to Rachel. “I mean it was a nice touch, we never really got to be teenagers like that, but god!”

Natasha just laughed. At least it was a good sign, she seemed to be warming up to him.

“I don’t man know,” he shook his head laughing at what just happened. “You’re gonna have to name your first born after me for putting me through that,” he joked.

Steve’s face was flushed and his eyes were wide. He’s always been the sensitive one. Whereas Natasha actually just eyed him because her humor was on fire tonight and she seemed to be in bliss, leaning against Steve.

“Or give me your first born,” he added to lighten it up for Steve’s sake.  
  


 

**Clint:**

Natasha liked to play with her toys. And she loved the attention because she is indeed a mysterious and beautiful woman. Anyone could see that. She could anyone wrapped around her finger as easily as she sheded them away when boredom struck. It was always her way to pass time. Clint actually envied her ability to just not care.

But then she met Steve Rogers and Clint saw her whole demeanor change. Like she had this soft side toward others that even he never got to see. She definitely smiled more. She showed her soft side to his children—this one was different though. She cared for the Captain. Or she would not have been standing outside the operating room hugging herself as she fought back any further tears from falling down.

“He’s strong,” Clint approached her. “He’ll be okay,” he stood next to her, not giving her a comforting hug because right now, he could tell she did not want that.

That would mean something is really wrong and she refused to believe that, even if she was watching them try to revive Steve through the window. The commotion inside the room was not reassuring at all and Clint hoped—for the sake of the woman who had become family to him—that they would present them with good news.

One of the doctors came out eventually, with a huge sigh of disappointment but a pleased look nonetheless.

“We are doing our best,” he spoke. “The wound is extremely close to the heart—“

“Bring him back,” Natasha spoke angrily. “Bring him back!”

“We are not giving up Agent Romanoff,” the doctor said with a slight fear in his eyes. “I promise you, he will be okay.”

“Let me see him,” Natasha moved forward.

“We removed the—“

“I want to go inside,” Natasha interrupted.

“He’s in recovery and will most likely not wake up for—“

“I want to be with him,” She practically growled.

The doctor stepped aside and Natasha was inside the room in half a second.

“He should be okay,” the doctor spoke to Clint. “Maybe in pain and should rest for many months if possible.”

Clint just nodded. He watched Natasha crawl onto Steve’s side. She looked small next to the soldier as she curled next to him. The doctor had walked away and the staff members in the room had escorted themselves out, leaving Natasha alone with Steve. Clint was sure one of the nurses had told Natasha not to sit on the bed, but the Black Widow hardly listened to anyone.

Steve seemed to have stirred on the bed as Natasha lifted her head up. He opened his eyes and she smiled at him. He sat up a bit, smiled weakly at her and adjusted himself to the situation.

Clint watched them. He knew the glass was one sided, which meant they could not see him, nor were they really looking his way.

Natasha placed her hand on Steve’s cheek, saying something to him as he leaned into her touch.

They were talking, deeply invested in their conversation as he could see Natasha’s face beginning to relax a little. She had her soldier back, she was curled safely next to him and Clint knew she would be okay. If only he could get her to tell Steve exactly how she felt though.

If Steve could just have been aware at how Natasha’s whole world came crumbling down as she rushed over to his wounded body, holding him as she was drenched in his blood, screaming for him to stay with her.

Her cries of “No no no, Steve please don’t leave me,” still echoed in all of their heads. It was the first time they had all seen Natasha breakdown. It was the first time they witnessed the Black Widow cry for the man she loves. Begging him to hang on, promising him she would go to the stupid game with him this Saturday even if she did not care for it.

“You can’t die on me,” she held him when they got on the jet. “I’m not sure I can go on.”

Clint had wanted to comfort her then, but he also knew her heart was breaking and she needed to let out whatever she had been holding onto. So he sat behind them in silence. Sam did his very best focusing on flying the jet with Tony and Bruce. Wanda sat next to Clint and kept her silence. They all knew to let Natasha just cry.

And no one dared to question the Black Widow’s emotional breakdown.

“I don’t know how to live without you,” Natasha murmured and Clint could see Steve squeezing her hand, he was still trying to fight, despite the massive blood loss. “Get through this and I promise we can go on that cheesy Croatia tour you wanted to go. Just please don’t leave me,” she cried, brushing off the damp hair that had fall on Steve’s face.

His head was resting on Natasha’s lap, he was so pale already. Clint was fearing for the worst, but he would never say that.

“Steve,” Natasha continued to run her fingers through his hair. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered. “I want you back. I want you back. This really hurts. You weren’t supposed to break my heart,” she cried louder. “You can’t do this to me!”

Now, hours later, Clint could see her heart was slowly piecing itself together as Steve wrapped his uninjured arm around her and she snuggled closer into his touch.

 

**Bruce:**

If Natasha’s desperate cries for Steve to come back to  _ her _ were not enough to give away that there was definitely more than just friendly feelings between the two, then what he witnessed now had to be confirmation.

Steve had been cleared to leave after a couple of days, with a strict order of resting for a while. Bruce was there in Steve’s room, helping Dr. Cho make Steve’s medicines, instructions, and first aid necessities easily accessible. He was not surprised to see Natasha sitting on the bed next to the Captain. They had both acknowledged his presence as he walked in and then continued with their conversation.

“It could be months,” Steve informed her and Bruce tried his best not to make it look like he was invested in their conversation. “Which means no missions for months.”

Natasha just shrugged in response.

“You think you can go months without that?” Steve taunted. “I might bore you.”

“I spent two years running with you,” Natasha pointed out. “We hardly did any avenging then. I can handle a few months.”

“Just making sure,” Steve spoke. “I do want you to keep me company as long as you’re not tired of me.”

“I’ll go where you go,” Natasha said casually. “I meant it then, I mean it now.”

Steve smiled at her. And Bruce should be shocked to overhear that Natasha Romanoff was willing to stay put for a few months to be by Steve’s side, but he was not. He expected it.

“One condition though,” Natasha added as Steve raised his eyebrow at her. “You can’t do that to me again.”

“Did I scare you that much?” Steve asked with a chuckle, but Natasha’s face was serious.

“I was devastated, Steve,” she said sternly. “I don’t want to experience that again.”

Steve was silent for a while, perhaps trying to process the admission of how worried Natasha had been for him. Bruce could have told him easily just how broken the whole team had been to watch Natasha cry and cradle his bloody body. But that was a conversation between Steve and Natasha one day.

“Hey,” Steve spoke softly. “If I die—“

“Stop it,” Natasha was not in the mood for that type of talk.

“Promise me you’ll allow someone to see the side of you you’ve shown me?” Steve ignored her plea. “The relaxed, funny, sweet, kind, amazing—“

“You can’t leave me,” Natasha interrupted him. “You can’t!” Her voice was louder this time, causing Bruce and Dr. Cho to exchange glances.

Their backs were to Steve and Natasha as they organized the drawers for medical supplies, which meant they were unsure if the two wanted them to leave.

“I don’t intend to leave you, but—“

“Steve no,” Natasha argued. “You can’t okay? I won’t be okay if you die. I won’t.”

“You are capable of making friends again. I’m just saying let your friends see all that you’ve let me. Don’t be afraid to create a bond like ours again, okay?”

Bruce took that split second to turn and see Natasha shaking her head.

“You’re not replaceable,” she noted. “This is not replaceable. I like myself when I’m with you. I want to be with you. You can’t do that to me again.”

“We don’t have forever Nat,” Steve informed her. 

“I’m not asking for forever,” Natasha swallowed. “Just please don’t break the heart I didn’t even realize I gave to you—“

“I  _ never _ want to break your heart,” Steve spoke, his voice firm.

“I just want to be who I am when I’m with you...all the time,” she admitted softly.

“What do  _ you _ want, Nat?” Steve asked, the tone in his voice filled with uncertainty.

“I want to stop wasting time,” she locked eyes with him. "I want... _us_."

"Then let's be an us," Steve reached out, cupping Natasha's cheek in his hand with a gentle brush.

Their conversation was going to a direction that Bruce and Dr. Cho felt they should not be in. Bruce cleared his throat and quickly announced their success with the first aid situation and that they would be back later to explain how to clean and exchange the bandages. This was something neither he or Dr. Cho really needed to witness.

Steve and Natasha just nodded as they dashed out of the room.


End file.
